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Aww. . .our furry family members. What would we do without these cuties? In return for their unconditional love we tend to their every need, we baby them, we talk to them in high pitched voices (because we think they like it) and we let them get away with some things even our children aren't allowed to do. Are you with me? I'm guilty as charged.
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Meet Belle. Belle came into our family this last February and she just turned 9 months old at the beginning of July. She's an English Cream Golden Retriever. . . and a complete firecracker. We love her to pieces.
When we brought her home, it was important to set some ground rules around the house right away.
There were certain things I didn't want her doing that our last golden retriever was famous for. From the beginning, we taught Belle that she was not allowed to:
- Jump up on guests (or anyone for that matter)
- Eat people food
- Jump, climb, lay or sleep on our furniture (including our beds)
We're also crate training her, so to make her feel at home (since she's not allowed on our bed), we have an oversize crate that she sleeps in at night (we've upgraded since a few months ago) and bought Belle, her very own monkey blanket. She likes monkeys? Well, we think so. She likes the blanket, so that means she must like monkeys, too, right? Right.
So, she takes this blanket everywhere. She sleeps with it at night, she takes it on car rides, and once and awhile, she likes to drag it outside into the front yard with her, too. For those of you who have a pup (or a kitty for that matter) that loves to cuddle up with blankets (even those that are not their own) you're going to start nodding your head after this next statement. . .after some time, the blankets tend to get. . .well, STINKY. Truth.
For those of you who may allow your pets up on your bed (we did for our last dog), you may have the same problem with your comforter or duvet. Because let's face it, when animals are laying on something soft like a blanket or a comforter, they're in their happy place.
They're thinking, "Whew, it's been a day. Thank goodness for this nice, soft, comfy spot to relax. I think I'll lay right here and clean myself up real good - lick all the dirt out of my fur and paws. This blanket doesn't taste half bad either, you know? I think I'll just chew on it awhile - hmmm. . . maybe just hold it here in my mouth. Hey, there's a piece of one of my favorite treats stuck to the corner over here. Wow, what a good day - WHAT a good day!"
You can only imagine what goes through their fuzzy little minds.
All I know is what goes through mine when I picked up the blanket and got a whiff of that wonderful doggy odor.
Let's set the story straight before we get too far along. Belle is really a very clean dog. Belle, herself, does not smell "doggy." The only time she really smells like a dog is when she's wet. And all dogs smell like a dog when they're wet, right? If I'm wrong on this one, let me know, but from my experience, this is the gosh darn truth.
Why am I so caught up about cleanliness? She's a dog! Yes, she is, but one of my pet peeves ("pet" peeve, get it?) is petting (that may be the most times I've said "pet" in a sentence ever) a dog and ending up with a smelly hand. Ick. It just turns me off and I purposely avoid the dog. Which is really sad, because I'm completely and utterly in love with pups.
I do what I can to make sure Belle never turns anyone's hand ripe. I use Dry Dog Shampoo on her about once a week and give her a deeper cleaning if she ever gets in a real dirty situation.
Ummm. . .like that one. Yep, that was a good day (for her). Boy did she have fun (this happens a lot).
Even though I'm pretty meticulous about keeping Belle clean - over time, even the cleanest pets can muster up enough stink to make you turn up your nose. That's what happened with Belle's monkey blanket. I held it up to my nose one day and couldn't believe what I was smelling. I immediately took it to the laundry room and threw it in the washer - then the dryer - with a couple extra dryer sheets.
When it was dry, I held it up to my nose again. I sniffed even harder and deeper this time. I was so excited to take in that freshly-washed blanket smell. . .but wait, hold on. Something was wrong. I suddenly became disgusted AGAIN. The smell was STILL there! WHAT?!!
Why does this happen? It doesn't happen with our clothes. What is it about pet smells that just seem to linger? I remember our good friends leaving one of their dogs blankets up at our lake cabin after a nice long holiday weekend. Wow did it stink. Like, fill a room up. . .stink. We put it in a garbage bag, tied it up tight and delivered it as soon as we were able. You know what they ended up doing with it? They threw it out. It was that bad.
So, remembering that incident, and now finding myself in a similar situation, I was on a mission to rid Belle's monkey blanket of that stubborn doggy smell. Normal laundry detergent and softener just wasn't cutting it.
I experimented with a few different things before I found the miracle combination - yep, I found it. I finally figured out how to remove pet smells from blankets!
If you're facing the same stinky dilemma that I was, you best stick around. . . because if you try this, the results are going to blow your mind.
So here's what you're going to need IN ADDITION to your normal laundry detergent:
Ingredients
- ½ cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (not to be confused with baking soda; WASHING soda)
- ¼ cup hydrogen peroxide
- ½ cup white or apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Do a warm water wash and add your detergent to the washer like normal. Throw in the blanket or comforter.
- Add ½ cup of super washing soda.
- Add ¼ cup of hydrogen peroxide
- Fill the softener dispenser with ½ cup vinegar. If your washer doesn't have a dispenser add the vinegar during the last rinse cycle.
That's it!
When the washer stopped, I went to smell my blanket again. This time, there was no doggy smell! None. Zilch. Nada. I ran to tell Josh right away with the blanket in hand. I stuck it right up to his nose yelling, "Smell this!" He initially resisted because he knew what it smelled like before, but when I explained to him I truly did get the smell out this time, he took a big whiff and was as amazed as I was.
You're running to gather the ingredients already, aren't you? Well, you should be! I hope this method works as well for you as it did for us. I am completely amazed, and can't stop sharing my discovery with my friends!
They'll be talking to me about a movie they just saw and I'll just reply with, "Do you have any stinky blankets you need cleaned? Like real stinky? Cause' I know how to get the smell out!" I've become a bit "obsessed." LOL While I wouldn't recommend you ask crazy questions like this of your friends, my friends have come to completely understand (they've known me awhile) my madness.
So, what are you waiting for? Start filling that washer, grab those smelly blankets and bedding and REMOVE THAT DOGGY STINK!!
Notes: I've used the hydrogen peroxide each time I've done this and I've never had a problem with it discoloring her blanket. The peroxide/washing soda combination basically acts like an oxygen bleach - similar to Oxy Clean that you would buy from the store. I do want to mention, however, that I DID use Oxy Clean in one of my earlier attempts to remove the smells and it was unsuccessful.
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Csp
Hi there any tips on where to find washing soda? All my local stores only carry there baking soda... anything else that would work that might be easier to find?
Sara
Do you have a Walmart close by or are you in the states that you can order online? https://www.walmart.com/ip/Arm-Hammer-Super-Washing-Soda-Booster-55-Oz/19407690
Mari
OMG! It totally worked! I had a group of dog blankets that smelled like...ummmm, frankly, butt! I have had them cleaned many times and they’ve always returned with a foul smell. I tried your recipe and nothing. No butt, no foul! I am so happy...next, the dog bed....thank you for the wonderful suggestion!
Sara
I'm so glad it worked for you, Mari! Isn't it freeing to know you finally discovered a solution to remove the stink?! LOL
Kirsten
This method worked WONDERS for me! Thank you so much! My throw blankets and couch covers always smell faintly dog like even after a wash and I hate offering them to guests but I just tried this method and the smell is ENTIRELY gone! I did a large load of blankets and just doubled the vinegar and peroxide and it worked perfectly. From a fellow pup lover/smell hater, thank you! Next step is to try the dry shampoo!
Sara
I'm so glad it worked for you Kirsten!! It's pretty amazing, isn't it?!
Missy
Thank you!! Bought an old couch for the playroom and some of the cushion covers had a dog smell. I'd washed them several times and my bionic nose could still smell it but this actually made them smell sweet!!
Also, I didn't have washing powder so I used Borax, and it worked great.
Sara
Awesome! So glad it worked and it's great to know you can sub Borax for the washing powder!
Beth Fabel
I used this today in my front loader on some stinky dog smell blankets and it worked well, no smell at all. I put the peroxide in with the detergent, the vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser and the washing soda in the drum. Very happy, thank you!
Sara
Oh, I'm so happy it worked for you! You are welcome!
massie block
i tried this and really wanted it to work.....sadly, it did not.
Sara
Oh no, really?! What kind of smell were you trying to get out?
Courtney Daniels
Hello. I have used your method several several times and it has always worked for me. I have even saved your recipe in my phone! I do have a question/concern though. My cocker spaniel recently peed on our bed. It soaked through the bed clothes into the mattress. Is there a solution I can make up that I could spray on the mattress to get this horrible smell out? 😀
Marlena
Will this work on animal pee too?
Sara
Yes it will! Good luck and let me know your thoughts on the results!
Marlena
So itll work on any kind of a pee in general? Could I just wash it in warm water with detergent and softener, or will there still me a smell or a stain? My blanket is light purple on the inside and purple floral flowers on the front.
Penny
I can't wait to try this! I have 3 fur babies and don't have an odor problem with the 2 bigger dogs bedding it's the mini pin chihuahua mix blankets that really smell. I can pre soak & wash multiple times with vinegar, odoBan & detergent, they come out smelling really clean, the problem is when I go to change out her bedding all the clean blankets smell again. I even have to keep her blankets in the garage because they made the closet smell so bad. So my question is does this recipe last longer than just out of the wash?
Sara
Penny, I can't wait to hear if this worked for you and what you think. To make things last longer, maybe you could try applying dry shampoo on your pups between baths. It may keep their bedding smelling nicer for longer, too!
Anna R
I have several dogs, never thought I’d find something that would take that doggie smell away. Thanks for your pin. I tried it and it works. I’m know using it all the time for other smells I want knocked out of my laundry.
Sara
It's amazing isn't it? People never believe me when I tell them the recipe REALLY works! 🙂
Priscilla
Is there a formula using washing soda for something that can't go in the washer? Say...a stinky outdoor rug that can be hosed down? Thanks for your tips!
Sara
You could try hand washing/scrubbing the rug with the same ingredients. Amounts don't need to be perfect. Just the combination should do the job. Good luck!
anon
Just get to the point.
I Dont care to read a novel first, about your dog and then eventually read about the remedy to remove the smells from blankets twenty chapters later.
Sara
Thanks for stopping by. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy reading about our dog, Belle. We're pretty fond of her around here and she's part of our family. . .and this site. I hope the recipe works for you and I appreciate you leaving a comment.
Shelleen
OMG....thank you so much for this recipe!!! I have two fur babies that like to take over all my blankets and even though they get regular baths they STINK up all my blankets ??. I have washed two loads already and am now washing my towels in the same stuff. Everything smells so fresh!! Now off to bath the fur babies so they smell just as clean!!
Sara
I'm so glad it worked so well for you! Glad your blankets, towels and fur babies are now all squeaky clean!
Michelle
I have 2 Black and Tan Coonhounds and a Bloodhound. They get a good funk going as a pack, but mostly our Bloodhound is the big stinker! I made custom beds out of washable heavy upholstery and couldn't get the smell out when I washed. I used 1/2 cup Borax, 1/2 cup Oxi Clean, 1/2 cup vodka, 1/4 cup peroxide (in my front loader detergent compartments) and then 1/2 cup vinegar in rinse (fabric softer compartment). Amazing results! Completely smell free when it came out! I freshen up with 1/2 water, 1/2 vodka and a few drops of tea tree oil on beds, chairs, couches, and carpets. Thank you for the wonderful advice.
Jenna jensen
I'm very excited to try this tonight! I had two questions, but the first question about where to put everything in a front loader was already asked and answered! Thank you!
My second question is on how to dry?
I have two catahoula leopards (yes, they are dogs!). Both are about 75 pounds and big babies! Aros is 7 and Barbie is 9.5. Barbie has very sensitive skin to chemicals such as Febreze, so I try to keep her stuff as natural as possible which is why I'm excited for your post.
Thank you!
Sara
I can't wait to hear how your blankets turned out, Jenna. In winter I do throw the blankets in the dryer - in summer, I'll hang them outside on the side of our deck or a clothesline.
Barb Roy
My Olde English Bulldog is very allergic to Febreeze. My vet said most dogs have an allergic reaction to it.
Silas Knight
I hate having blankets that smell like dog. Don't get me wrong, I love my dog, but she does not smell very good. So, thanks for the tips on getting the smell out. I have never heard of washing soda before, but I will have to try it out.